Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Kazuo Okada lost a bid to dismiss a
lawsuit by Wynn Resorts Ltd., the casino operator that seeks to
oust the Japanese billionaire as a director after forcibly
redeeming his 20 percent stake in the company last year.

Clark County District Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez, at a
hearing today in Las Vegas, denied Okada’s request to dismiss
Wynn Resorts’ claims that he breached his duty as a corporate
director by knowingly breaking the law and putting his own
interest in developing a casino resort in the Philippines above
that of the company.

Wynn Resorts sued Okada in February, at the same time the
board voted to redeem his shares. Wynn Resorts alleges that
Okada and his associates made payments to Philippine gaming
officials in apparent violation of U.S. anti-bribery laws, which
could threaten the company’s licenses to operate casinos.

Okada “strongly” believed that he was allowed to provide
gifts when doing business and that what he did was lawful, one
of his lawyers, Charles McCrea, said at today’s hearing.

“Unlawful activity means something against the law,”
McCrea said. The Wynn Resorts’ “code of ethics is not a law. It
is not a statute.”

McCrea wasn’t available for comment after the hearing.

‘Orchestrated Campaign’

Okada’s lawyers, in their Nov. 26 request to dismiss the
claims, said Wynn Resorts’ complaint was “simply a further step
in an orchestrated campaign to silence and punish the lone voice
of dissent to Steve Wynn’s demands on the board of directors.”

Wynn Resorts has scheduled a special meeting of
stockholders for Feb. 22 to vote Okada off the board.

Okada, the chairman of Tokyo-based Universal Entertainment
Corp., had said in court filings that Steve Wynn, chairman and
chief executive officer of the casino company, wants to oust him
because he questioned and voted against a $135 million donation
to the University of Macau in 2011.

Okada helped Steve Wynn 12 years ago to bankroll the gaming
company, which has resorts in Las Vegas and Macau. In his
counterclaims to Wynn Resorts’ lawsuit, Okada said Steve Wynn
runs the business as a “personal fiefdom” and packs the board
with “friends who do his personal bidding.” He seeks a court
ruling that the redemption of his shares is invalid.

Wynn Resorts contends Okada was angry since at least
February 2011 about the board’s refusal to get involved with the
casino project he’s developing in the Philippines. The board was
concerned about “deeply ingrained” corruption in the
Philippines, according to the Wynn Resorts complaint.